The so-called ‘Kleiner Schlossplatz’ was build in 1968, covering an underground traffic junction in the centre of Stuttgart. Since the 1980s, when this traffic system was found to be out of date, the area was the topic of several urban development competitions. In the year 1999 the office won the open international competition which was to be built. The design concept takes advantage of the difficult situation by transforming most of the tunnels not used any more into attractive exhibition spaces. The volume of the building, which is on top of the tunnels, follows a classical approach on urban development: The glass-cube with its clear corners defines the space of the street and provides clear boundaries to the neighbouring squares. The new art museum is situated at Stuttgart’s most important city square. It forms an ensemble with the old castle, the new castle and the ‘Königsbau’.
In this context it was a deliberate decision not to use any fashionable or historical forms. The museum presents itself in the space of the city as a weightless solitaire, keeping an appropriate distance to the ‘Königsbau’. A spacious flight of steps creates a public space between the square ‘Kleiner Schlossplatz’ and the new castle as well as a fluid transition from ‘Kleiner Schlossplatz’ to ‘Königsstrasse’, one of Germany’s biggest pedestrian precincts. A succession of little squares provides places on different levels, for people to stroll and to linger, to meet and to watch or to participate in urban activities. In designing the museum the basic idea was to create spaces – both inside and outside - that offer the citizens, as well as the visitors, opportunities for communication that reach beyond the public character of a museum.
While the underground area is very introvert, the glass cube is emphasizing its relation to the outside. Directly behind the glass shell, stairs lead to the entrance levels of the exhibition rooms, which are situated inside an inner stone cube. The space between the exhibition rooms and the façade is open to the public, therefore making the museum and its surroundings a part of the urban life.The transparent glass cube has the possibility to use it as a kind of stage for the city. This is an indispensable component of the design. Because the different levels are connected without interfering in the exhibition space, the top level (cube) can be used publicly without causing any disturbances in the quiet character of the museum itself. The ‘roof terrace’ is open to everybody, visiting the museum or not, offering a restaurant + event space with a panoramic view of Stuttgart.
| Stuttgart Museum of Art Stuttgart (D) building costs approx. 67 million EUR start of construction 2002 completion 2004 floor area 13,000 sqm
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